Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A Presentation By
John Witcombe
December 16, 2011
Only the baptism of the Holy Spirit will allow one to “impartially examine the
evidences of a position that differs from theirs.”1 And only the Spirit of God can bring
unity of belief among those of us who are teaching the prophecies of Daniel.
But He won’t do it without effort on our part. In our Sabbath Conferences our
pioneers worked hard. They brought to the table information that the group could
consider and pray over.
We have spent nearly two years placing on the table information regarding these
three divergent views of Daniel 11:40–45. We have asked and answered every question
we could think of. However, we have not moved one inch toward a consensus of thought.
Why hasn’t the Holy Spirit led us into unity of teaching? We have wanted that.
We have prayed for that. But it has not happened.
I did not want to present the civil view of these verses here at this meeting.
Everyone has Uriah Smith’s book, and most here probably know Smith’s view as well as
I do. What can I add that is not already well understood?
So you may have noticed on the first draft of the agenda that I put Ken’s name
down for giving this presentation. As a scholar and teacher, his abilities surpass mine.
But he wrote me and asked if I would do it instead.
If the Holy Spirit is going to work on our hearts and minds to bring us into a
unified position, He is not going to bypass our reasoning abilities and simply cause us all
to see alike. He will work with material that is brought to this meeting by those of us who
have purposed in our hearts to come into unity.
1
Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, bk. 1, 411.
1
What material could I bring that could be used for this purpose?
But before I do that, let me share with you a key that I have found that could
possibly be material the Holy Spirit could use to bring us into unity of belief. Before I
share this key with you, I need to establish the fact that Jesus was to have come in the
1800s.
We all know this, but I don’t think we have given this truth the attention it
deserves, and I don’t believe that we have understood the implications of this fact.
In her book, The Great Controversy, Ellen White writes about the spring feasts
and how they related to the first coming of Jesus and were fulfilled on the very days
pointed out in the symbolic services. Then she says:
“In like manner the types which relate to the second advent must be fulfilled at
the time pointed out in the symbolic service.”2
As the spring feast fulfillments occurred in the exact order and on the dates in
which they occurred in the Jewish types, we must expect the three autumn feasts— Feast
of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles—also to occur in the order and
at the time pointed out in the symbolic services. And remember, that these types (plural)
“relate to the second advent.”
2
EGW, The Great Controversy, 399, emphasis added.
2
How is the Day of Atonement related to the Second Advent? It is the final activity
of Jesus, preparatory to His return. The work He does during that Day prepares a people
to be translated without seeing death, and as a part of this service, Jesus will stand up and
close probation. He will place the sins of the repentant upon Satan.
“I saw that the time for Jesus to be in the most holy place was nearly
finished, and that time can last but a very little longer; and what leisure time we
have should be spent in searching the Bible, which is to judge us in the last day.”3
All activities of the Day of Atonement relate to and are carried out, as a part of the
Second Coming event.
What was the Feast of Trumpets—that fell on the first day of the seventh month—
a type of? And how is it related to the Second Advent?
First, it is important to realize that the word trumpets is not in the Hebrew text.
Albert Barnes says: “Here [Leviticus 23:24] and in Numbers 29:1, literally ‘shouting.’ No
mention of trumpets occurs in the Hebrew text of the Law in connection with the day.”
Strong’s says this Hebrew word means acclamation of joy, jubilee, loud noise,
rejoicing, shout(-ing), (high, joyful) sound.
Whatever the Feast of Trumpets is, it would have had to occur before October 22,
1844—the Day of Atonement.
“It was the time of the Feast of Trumpets. Many were gathered at
Jerusalem. . . . ‘And the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the
law.’ They listened, intent and reverent, to the words of the Most High. As the
law was explained, they were convinced of their guilt, and they mourned because
of their transgressions. But this day was a festival, a day of rejoicing, a holy
3
Ellen G. White, Broadside 2, January 31, 1849.
3
convocation, a day which the Lord had commanded the people to keep with joy
and gladness; and in view of this they were bidden to restrain their grief and to
rejoice because of God's great mercy toward them. ‘This day is holy unto the Lord
your God,’ Nehemiah said. ‘Mourn not, nor weep. . . . Go your way, eat the fat,
and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared:
for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is
your strength.’”4
Did anything take place prior to October 22, 1844 that might correlate with the
joy and feasting occasioned by the Feast of Trumpets?
Just prior to October 22, 1844, there was a worldwide movement, joyfully
shouting with a loud voice the announcement of the second coming of Jesus.
Could it be that the reason the Feast of Trumpets had that element of feasting, joy,
and rejoicing connected with it was because it typified the announcement of the second
coming of Jesus?
This may be a new thought for some of us. Our pioneers all taught that the Feast
of Trumpets was a solemn call to prepare for the Day of Atonement.
“On the first day of the seventh month, God ordained Israel to keep the
Feast of Trumpets. This was a call to judgment, a solemn summons to be
prepared for the cleansing of the sanctuary on the tenth day of the month, the Day
of Atonement.”5
But from what I have studied, it appears that this feast is associated, not with the
Day of Atonement, but with the Second Coming of Jesus. It looks as if it represented the
great announcement of the imminent return of Jesus.
4
EGW, Patriarchs and Prophets, 661, 662.
5
Richard Davidson (http://www.wenatcheeadventist.org/article.php?id=37).
4
The feast of Trumpets was sometimes called “the feast of the unknown day and
hour,” because, unlike other feasts, it began at the time of the new moon on the first day
of the seventh month.
Around the time of the first day of every month, two witnesses were sent out to
determine the first sighting of the crescent moon. Until this could be confirmed, no one
knew whether the new month had actually arrived. So the typical Feast of Trumpets came
on a day and hour no one could know of in advance—just as will be true of the Second
Coming.
The Feast of Trumpets was to fall on the first day of the seventh month. But in
what year was the Feast of Trumpets fulfilled?
The spring feasts that pointed to Jesus’ first coming all were connected to a time
prophecy in Daniel.
The Passover was fulfilled in the midst of the week, the 14th day of the month of
Nisan, A.D. 31, according to Daniel 9:24–27. The other spring feasts immediately
followed, according to the times pointed out in the symbolic services.
Now, as we look at the fall feasts, we know that the Day of Atonement had a time
prophecy connected to it—the 2300-year prophecy. We know the very day and year on
which this occurred—October 22, 1844.
We know that the next feast, the Feast of Tabernacles, fell five days later, on the
15th day of the seventh month. This feast will find its fulfillment “when the ransomed of
the Lord shall have been safely gathered into the heavenly Canaan, forever delivered
from the bondage of the curse.”6
No time prophecy can be associated with this one, because no time prophecies
extend beyond October 22, 1844. And the second coming of Jesus is an event that we can
either hasten or delay. Thus, there is no prophetic time prophecy that tells us the year for
this feast, as we find in the other feasts.
6
Ibid., 541, 542.
5
Now the only fall feast left to consider is the Feast of Trumpets. Based upon the
precedent that all the other feasts (except the last one, for obvious reasons) have time
prophecies from the book of Daniel connected to them, it makes sense to me that this one
would also.
Could the time prophecy found in Daniel 12:12 be telling us what year the Feast
of Trumpets would be fulfilled? “Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand
three hundred and five and thirty days.”
begins at the same date given in verse 11; 508 A.D. plus 1335 equals 1843 A.D.
Those who came to this day are the ones who gave the first angel’s message
which was an announcement that the hour of His judgment had come. They were
announcing to the world with a loud voice that the hour for the Second Coming of Jesus
was at hand:
“In the prophecy this warning of the judgment, with its connected
messages, is followed by the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven.
The proclamation of the judgment is an announcement of Christ’s second coming
as at hand. And this proclamation is called the everlasting gospel. Thus the
7
S. N. Haskell, Bible Handbook, 1919, 128.
6
preaching of Christ's second coming, the announcement of its nearness, is shown
to be an essential part of the gospel message.”8
It appears from history that the climax for giving the first angel’s message came
in the fall of 1843. The second angel’s message came in 1844.
“The first and second messages [Revelation 14:6–8] were given in 1843
and 1844, and we are now under the proclamation of the third; but all three of the
messages are still to be proclaimed.”9
“The Lord showed me that the 1843 chart was directed by his hand, and
that no part of it should be altered; that the figures were as he wanted them. That
his hand was over and hid a mistake in some of the figures, so that none could see
it, until his hand was removed.”10
Why did God’s hand direct the figures on the 1843 chart? Because the climax of
the announcement of the Second Coming of Jesus was to take place at the end of the
1335-day prophecy. This climax took place in the fall of that year 1843—the very time of
year that the Feast of Trumpets was to have been fulfilled.
“At this stage of the Millerite experience the seventh month of the Jewish
year was most likely determined by the Rabbinical reckoning, yielding as limits
for this month September 24 and October 24, 1843. One additional reason why
this period was looked upon with great interest was that the Jewish Civil Year
ended in the month of October. Miller’s idea on the antitypical significance of the
seventh month was so well appreciated by at least one correspondent that a letter
appeared in Signs of the Times stating that ‘father Miller’s seventh month will
bring the end.’ When the ‘autumnal equinox approached, the expectations of
8
EGW, Christ’s Object Lessons, 227, 228, emphasis added.
9
EGW, Christ Triumphant, 338.
10
EGW, Review and Herald, Nov. 1, 1850.
7
many were raised, that the Lord would come at the season of the Feast of
Tabernacles.’”11
“They knew that God had led them by His unerring providence. Though,
like the first disciples, they themselves had failed to understand the message
which they bore, yet it had been in every respect correct. In proclaiming it they
had fulfilled the purpose of God, and their labor had not been in vain in the
Lord.”12
In Europe something unusual took place. Adults were forbidden to declare the
soon coming of Jesus. But the prophecy of 1843 must be fulfilled, so God inspired
children to give the message. “The movement began in the fall of 1842, and continued
through the winter of 1843.”13
“[An eyewitness reported that] a little girl began preaching but a few miles
from the place where I lived, and as the news of the wonderful movement was
noised about, I went with my wife to see and hear for myself. When we arrived at
the cottage, it was filled with people. The child, who was six or eight years old,
moved around among them, and they asked her questions, which she answered as
a child usually does. The people flocked together, till the house was surrounded
by a great number. When the last had arrived, her manner changed entirely, both
in boldness and movements, clearly indicating that she was moved by an invisible
power, and not by her own natural gifts. When she commenced speaking, her
voice also changed. She said, ‘Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his
Judgment is come.’”14
11
P. Gerard Damsteegt, Foundations of the Seventh-day Adventist Message and Mission, 1977, 88.
12
EGW, The Great Controversy, 423.
13
EGW, Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists, 205.
14
Ibid.
8
“It was God’s will that the tidings of the Saviour’s coming should be
given in Sweden, and when the voices of his servants were silenced, he put his
Spirit upon the children, that the work might be accomplished. When Jesus drew
near to Jerusalem attended by the rejoicing multitudes who with shouts of triumph
and the waving of palm branches heralded him as the Son of David, the jealous
Pharisees called upon him to silence them; but Jesus answered that all this was the
fulfillment of prophecy, and if these should hold their peace the very stones would
cry out. The people, intimidated by the threats of the priests and rulers, ceased
their joyful proclamation as they entered the gates of Jerusalem; but the children
in the temple courts afterward took up the refrain, and, waving their branches of
palm, they cried, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ When the Pharisees, sorely
displeased, said unto him, ‘Hearest thou what these say?’ Jesus answered, ‘Yea;
have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected
praise?’ As God wrought through children in Christ’s day, so he wrought through
them in giving the first message. God’s word must be fulfilled, that the
proclamation of Christ’s advent near should be given to all peoples, tongues, and
nations.”15
Is this not clear that a great prophecy was fulfilled in 1843? Speaking of her
experience during this time, Ellen White wrote: “This was the happiest year of my life.”16
And those blessed ones who made that announcement were to be among those
who lived to see Jesus come. The signs in the sun, moon and stars had already occurred.
These signs had been intended to herald the soon return of Jesus. Those signs took
place four generations ago. This fact should lead us to pray the prayer of Daniel 9. The
fact that the last of these these signs took place 178 years ago ought to be a reproach upon
us as verily as was the desolation of Jerusalem a reproach upon Daniel and his people.
Daniel understood it. We don’t. For us to “discover” interpretations of waymark
prophecy that have been fulfilled in our lifetime takes away our reproach—or so we tell
ourselves. We want our own “sun, moon and stars” sign to which we may point. To
15
Ibid., 206.
16
EGW, Life Sketches, 187.
9
connect waymark prophecies to events of the modern era gives us new signs to point to
for the soon coming of Jesus. We are not under reproach. We are right on heaven’s
prophetic schedule.
“VII - That the world’s history from specified dates in the past, the rise
and fall of empires, and the chronological succession of events down to the setting
up of God’s everlasting kingdom, are outlined in numerous great chains of
prophecy; and that these prophecies are now all fulfilled except the closing
scenes.” 17
It had been the plan from the dawn of creation that the great controversy would
come to an end in the 1800s. The 2300-day prophecy, along with the 1335-day prophecy,
had been declaring that for millennia.
The Bible is clear: Jesus was to come shortly after 1844. An angel confirmed this
to Ellen White in 1856:
“I was shown the company present at the Conference. Said the angel:
‘Some food for worms, some subjects of the seven last plagues, some will be alive
and remain upon the earth to be translated at the coming of Jesus.’”18
“The hour will come; it is not far distant, and some of us who now believe
will be alive upon the earth, and shall see the prediction verified, and hear the
voice of the archangel and the trump of God echo from mountain and plain and
sea to the uttermost parts of the earth.”19
17
1889 Fundamental Principles, 148.
18
EGW, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, 131.
19
EGW, Review and Herald, July 31, 1888.
10
By what authority did this angel tell Ellen White that some of those present at that
conference would be translated to heaven without seeing death?
“Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things
be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my
Father only.” Matthew 24:34–36
“‘Verily I say unto you, This generation [the generation that saw the signs]
shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.’ Heaven and earth shall pass away,
but my words shall not pass away.”20
“Christ has given signs of His coming. He declares that we may know
when He is near, even at the doors. He says of those who see these signs, ‘This
generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.’ These signs have
appeared. Now we know of a surety that the Lord’s coming is at hand. ‘Heaven
and earth shall pass away,’ He says, ‘but My words shall not pass away.’”21
What was included in the all things? It appears to include the event of the Second
Coming of Jesus, because Jesus added that caveat: “But of that day and hour knoweth no
[man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”
Of a surety, the coming of Jesus was even at the door. He was indeed coming in
the generation of those attending that conference.
20
Review and Herald, December 27, 1898 (brackets included in the original).
21
EGW, The Desire of Ages, 632.
11
The second woe of Revelation 9 came to an end on August 11, 1840. In
Revelation 11 we are told that the third woe cometh quickly: “The second woe is past;
and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.” Revelation 11:14.
The seventh trumpet began to sound shortly after the sixth trumpet:
“But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to
sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants
the prophets. And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and
said, Go [and] take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which
standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.” Revelation 10:7, 8.
The experience of that little book took place in the 1840s, followed by the rise of
God’s remnant church. This was not the woe that was to come quickly. Many things, both
good and bad, are to take place under the seventh trumpet, and one of the bad things will be
the third woe.
The first and second woes were Jihadic battles involving the Islamic caliphate
(see Third Woe Symposium Presentation at thirdwoe.com - Password: 1844). The third
woe will also involve the Islamic caliphate which is only now on the horizon.
If the third woe is the third Jihad, as I believe it is, then the third woe did not
come quickly. That promise was conditional upon God’s people not rebelling. This verse
illustrates for us that the end was to have come in the 1800s. That is what the word
quickly indicated.
“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; . . . Behold, I come quickly:
hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown” Revelation 3:7, 11.
Jesus told this sixth church of the mid-1800s that He was coming quickly. This is
the only church to which Jesus speaks of His Second Coming.
“The word Philadelphia signifies brotherly love, and expresses the position and
spirit of those who received the Advent message up to the autumn of 1844.”22
22
.Uriah Smith, Daniel and the Revelation, 395.
12
Revelation 22:7 “Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of
the prophecy of this book.”
Revelation 22:12 “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to
give every man according as his work shall be.”
Revelation 22:20 “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly.
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
This promise to come quickly falls into the same category as the promise Jesus
gave to those at that 1856 conference. He promised that they would live to see Him come.
That promise was conditional. His coming quickly was conditional. We did not meet the
condition, so He did not come quickly.
When we read this promise of Jesus coming quickly, we should know that this
is past and that we caused this conditional promise to fail. The failure of this pr omise
should cause us to pray the prayer of Daniel 9: “O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of
face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against
thee.” Daniel 9:8
Had we not rebelled—and had Jesus thus returned in the 1800s as He had planned
and as He stated that He would—would all the unfulfilled prophecies of Daniel and
Revelation have been fulfilled before His return? Would they have all been fulfilled in
the 1800s?
23
EGW, Letter 184, 1901.
13
Let me ask it again:
Had we not rebelled—and had Jesus thus returned in the 1800s as He had planned
and as He stated that He would—would all the unfulfilled prophecies of Daniel and
Revelation have been fulfilled before His return? Would they have all been fulfilled in
the 1800s?
We can see in the historical record that a Sunday law was being discussed at the
national level. The final test was about to be brought to the world, and then Michael
would have stood up.
“The time of test is just upon us, for the loud cry of the third angel has
already begun in the revelation of the righteousness of Christ, the sin-pardoning
Redeemer. This is the beginning of the light of the angel whose glory shall fill the
whole earth.”24
And I find this most significant: The four angels who are to release the four winds
immediately after Michael stands up were beginning to loosen their grip.
“I saw four angels who had a work to do on the earth, and were on their
way to accomplish it. Jesus was clothed with priestly garments. He gazed in pity
on the remnant, then raised His hands, and with a voice of deep pity cried, ‘My
blood, Father, My blood, My blood, My blood!’ Then I saw an exceeding bright
light come from God, who sat upon the great white throne, and was shed all about
Jesus. Then I saw an angel with a commission from Jesus, swiftly flying to the
four angels who had a work to do on the earth, and waving something up and
down in his hand, and crying with a loud voice, ‘Hold! Hold! Hold! Hold! until
the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads.’
24
EGW, Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, 1073.
14
powers, and that He gave His angels charge over things on the earth; that the four
angels had power from God to hold the four winds, and that they were about to let
them go; but while their hands were loosening, and the four winds were about to
blow, the merciful eye of Jesus gazed on the remnant that were not sealed, and He
raised His hands to the Father and pleaded with Him that He had spilled His blood
for them. Then another angel was commissioned to fly swiftly to the four angels
and bid them hold, until the servants of God were sealed with the seal of the
living God in their foreheads.”25
The ingredients were all in place for the rapid fulfillment of every prophecy
relating to the Second Coming of Jesus.
With this truth, we have just provided for ourselves an important key to help us
identify correct interpretations for the prophecies of Daniel 11:40–45 and all other end-
time prophecies.
With this key, we immediately know that the interpretation for the locusts of
Revelation 9 as being military helicopters cannot be a correct interpretation, because
military helicopters were not present in the 1800s.
We can immediately know that the interpretation of Revelation 17’s seven kings
is not seven popes serving after 1929. Any interpretation of prophecy that requires
conditions that were not present in the 1800s would be a misinterpretation of prophecy.
Now let’s see what this key can do to open up our understanding of Daniel 11:40:
“And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the
king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with
horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall
overflow and pass over.”
In the 1800s the papacy had just recently received a deadly wound, and she would
remain relatively powerless until the restraints imposed by secular governments would be
removed.
25
EGW, Early Writings, 38.
15
“Let the restraints now imposed by secular governments be removed and
Rome be reinstated in her former power, and there would speedily be a revival of
her tyranny and persecution.”26
These restraints will be removed when the national Sunday law is passed. This is
why the only record in the book of Revelation of the activities of the papacy from the
wounding of the beast to that point in time where the entire world wonders after the beast
is that singular word and.
“And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound
was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.” Revelation 13:3, emphasis
added.
Was the entire world wondering after the beast in the 1800s? No, she had just
received a deadly wound. Well, then, how would or could the entire world have
wondered after the beast in the 1800s?
It would have been by the passage of an international Sunday law that the world
would have given homage to the papacy, and thus all the world would have wondered
after the beast. And that was about to happen in the 1800s.
True, closing-scene prophecies such as not being able to buy or sell will be
fulfilled today using different technologies than would have been used in the 1800s. But
there is no change in that prophecy itself—whether it would have been fulfilled in the
1800s or in the 2000s.
Let me tell you what got me interested in studying Daniel 11. I heard a lecture by
Tim Roosenberg that he had presented at the 2009 Northwest Religious Liberty Prophecy
Festival. I listened to that sermon several times. I had members who had heard that
lecture and were passing it around, and I was being asked what I thought of Tim’s views.
26
EGW, The Great Controversy, 564.
16
had just recently begun reading some of the pioneer’s writings and had come to recognize
the value of what they had to say.
My only foray into unfulfilled prophecy had to do with Revelation 17. Back in the
early 1980s, I had embraced Dr. Robert Hauser’s view that the seven kings of Revelation
17 were the seven popes serving after 1929.
Shortly after hearing Tim’s lecture, I discovered a key that I use as a template to
place over prophetic interpretations, to help me determine whether they are true or not.
And it was this template that informed me that my interpretation on Revelation 17:10
could not be correct.
How so? The Word of God through His messenger said that Jesus was coming in
the lifetime of those who were attending that conference. And I was teaching that God’s
Word had been declaring for 2,000 years that Jesus was not going to come until after
seven popes served, from the time that the papacy became a state in 1929.
The harm that I did by my teaching is far more than just giving an inaccurate
prophetic interpretation—I contributed to the Laodicean malady that affects our church.
We think we are right on course. We think we are right where the prophetic Word of God
said we ought to be.
I have come to see that I unconsciously was acting the part of that evil servant
who said, “My Lord delayeth His coming.”
17
Had I been teaching my view of these seven popes back in the 1800s when the
prophet was telling us that the coming of Jesus was even at the doors, my prophetic views
would have been working at cross purposes with what God was telling His church. I
would have been that evil servant declaring that my Lord delayeth His coming.
Let me say something more about the value of templates. In Microsoft Word,
templates make the work of creating a project much easier. They save time and help
people who have low skill levels to accomplish certain tasks that would normally be
beyond their abilities.
I had someone call me who wanted to know how to find the right church from
among the hundreds that are available to choose from. How can I know which one
teaches the truth? I’m no theologian, she told me. She had low skill levels and a large
task at hand. She needed a template to make her task easier.
She made just a random phone call to begin her search. I told her about a template
that I use to answer such questions. “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not
according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” Isaiah 8:20.
Take this template and place it over each church. If they do not teach the keeping
of God’s law—which includes the seventh-day Sabbath—then you move on to the next
church.
Using this template, you can eliminate hundreds of churches very quickly. Once,
by using this template, you’ve narrowed it down to the two or three churches that honor
the fourth commandment, then you can compare the teachings of these churches with the
Bible and choose the one that adheres most closely to God’s Word.
The template she was using—was it a valuable tool? I believe that it was, but my
fellow pastor in the Church of Christ would say it was a totally useless tool. He would be
able to give a convincing presentation from the writings of Paul to show that the law has
been done away with and that therefore, this template was useless.
18
Now, if I wanted to stay with my Revelation 17 interpretation of the seven kings
being seven popes, I would have to show why there is no key or template in this idea that
Jesus was to have come in the 1800s.
How would I do that? Very easily. I would simply appeal to the foreknowledge of
Jesus. He knew He wouldn’t be coming, and to show us that He knew this, He gave
Daniel and John prophecies that could not have been fulfilled in the time in which He
said He was coming—the 1800s.
This may work for you, but this idea somehow just doesn’t fit with my view of
God’s character of integrity. For Jesus to have stated so clearly that He was coming
within the lifetime of those living in 1856—while knowing that He had given prophecies
that could not and were not designed to be fulfilled until many years after they would
have died—does not sit right with me.
Leaving aside integrity issues, let’s use some common sense. If we were able to
show how every prophecy in the books of Daniel and Revelation had the ingredients in
place and could have been fulfilled in the 1800s when Jesus was to have returned—every
prophetic verse in the Bible, that is, except Revelation 17:10, that I believed spoke of the
seven popes who rule after 1929—would you be more inclined to believe that my
interpretation is wrong or that this key is invalid?
What would common sense dictate? By the way, what is the value of common
sense in the study of the Word of God?
“The philosophy of common sense is of far more importance to the youth than the
study of Greek and Latin.”27
“God wants us all to have common sense, and He wants us to reason from
common sense.”29
27
EGW, The Youth’s Instructor, June 30, 1898.
28
EGW, Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 257.
29
EGW, Selected Messages, bk. 3, 217.
19
Would not common sense tell us that it is probably more likely that my
interpretation of Revelation 17 is faulty, than that Jesus gave prophecies that could not
have been fulfilled in the 1800s?
Now, looking at our interpretations of verse 40 of Daniel 11—if this is the only
prophetic verse in the entire Bible that could not have been fulfilled in the 1800s, would
not common sense tell us to reexamine our interpretation rather than discard this key?
This singular key that is provided by the knowledge that Jesus was indeed to have
returned in the 1800s and that therefore all prophecy would necessarily have met its
fulfillment in the 1800s opens up to us the possibility for a unified view of Daniel 11:40–
45. If this is a valid key, then the Holy Spirit will have to make this evident to all of us.
In January of 2010, after hearing Tim’s lecture, I decided to read for the first time
Uriah Smith’s take on Daniel 11. I had already formed my template key, and as I read
what he had to say on verses 40–45, it fit this key.
In fact, there is only one interpretive view of these six verses that I am aware of
that sees all the ingredients in place and in the process of fulfillment in the 1800s. And
that view is found in Uriah Smith’s book, Daniel and the Revelation. I saw how his view
could have all been fulfilled back in the 1800s. He believed that all verses except verse
45 had been fulfilled. In 1877 he saw that verse 45 was in the very process of being
fulfilled but that this fulfillment was stopped, just as the National Sunday law prophecy
was stopped.
Here is a report from Ellen White regarding Smith lecturing on the prophecy of
Daniel 11:45, showing the people that this verse was in the process of fulfillment even as
he spoke:
“Sunday morning the weather was still cloudy, but before it was time for
the people to assemble the sun shone forth. Boats and trains poured their living
freight upon the ground, as was the case last year. Elder Smith spoke in the
morning upon the Eastern question. The subject was of special interest, and the
people listened with the most earnest attention. It seemed to be just what they
wanted to hear. In the afternoon it was difficult for me to make my way to the
20
desk through the standing crowd. Upon reaching it, a sea of heads was before me.
The mammoth tent was fully seated, the seats having comfortable backs. These
were all filled, yet thousands stood about the tent, making a living wall several
feet deep.”30
After reading what Smith wrote in his book on Daniel 11, I decided to write out
an updated version of Smith’s views and send it to James Rafferty for his evaluation
“Hi James, this week I was laid up sick in bed and had some time on my
hands so I looked at Daniel 11. You are the prophecy student. Tell me what you
think.
“John”
And thus started, for me, an extremely informative dialog which is what has
brought us all together here at this symposium.
Steve Grabiner wrote in an e-mail exchange: “Should ‘repeat and enlarge’ be the
ruling guide, or ‘consistency of symbols within a context’ be the guide? That might be
simplistic, but that seems to me to be the fundamental question.”
I believe both must guide us. Daniel 11 repeats and enlarges on the same history
of the previous visions: Medo/Persia, Greece, Rome, and then the 1260-year reign of the
papacy, as seen in verses 30–35.
Then the prophecy deals with the French Revolution (verses 36-39) taking us
right up to the time of the end. The papacy received its deadly wound, on February 20,
1798, initiating the time of the end. And now, the question is, what history do these last
six verses (40-45) cover?
This point in history is brought to view in Revelation 13:3: “And I saw one of his
heads as it were wounded to death.”
30
EGW, Review and Herald, September 6, 1877.
21
Then the verse tells us that the deadly wound is healed. And then it speaks of all
the world wondering after the beast—which we understand will be brought about by the
international Sunday law.
I believe that Daniel 11:40–45 tells us about events that transpire in world history
that take place between the time when the beast is wounded and the time when the entire
world wonders after the beast. Revelation 13 does not deal with this period of time.
Daniel 2, 7, or 8 do not discuss events that transpire between the wounding of the
beast and that point when all the world wonders after the beast, which will take place
immediately before the Second Coming of Jesus.
Daniel 11 is our detail chapter. It goes into the details of history as no other
prophecy does. It alone provides us specific, civil waymarks to watch for within this
unspecified time frame between the wounding of the beast and the world wondering after
the beast.
Would it not be nice to have waymarks to watch for in the civil history of the
world, such as were given to us in the first half of Daniel 11, for this most critical of
times—the time of the end—the time before the Sunday laws are enacted?
I will be presenting Uriah Smith’s view of verses 40-44 with an updated view of
verse 45. Based upon this rule of “consistency of symbols within a context,” this view
consistently interprets the kings of the north and south as civil rulers, from start to finish.
22
Let me also suggest that if we would follow William Miller’s rules of
interpretation—especially rule # 7, as we seek to find the identity for the kings of the
north and south in verses 40–45—I think we could come into unity of belief on this
prophecy.
Notice what Ellen White said about William Miller’s rules for Bible study and
interpretation:
“Those who are engaged in proclaiming the third angel's message are
searching the Scriptures upon the same plan that Father Miller adopted. In the
little book entitled "Views of the Prophecies and Prophetic Chronology," Father
Miller gives the following simple but intelligent and important rules for Bible
Take a look at William Miller’s rule # 7: “11. How to know when a word is used
figuratively: If it makes good sense as it stands, and does no violence to the simple laws
17:3-7.”32
Let’s look at the word king in verse 40. How can we know whether it is to be
Does it make good sense as it stands? That’s the first question we must ask. All
the previous kings of the south were literal civil rulers. Can we find a literal civil ruler
who would qualify as king of the south in the time of the end? Is there a person ruling in
Egypt sometime after February 20, 1798 who pushed against the “him” who refers to the
king of verse 36? If there isn’t, then we must go figuratively with this king of the south.
31
EGW, Review and Herald, November 25, 1884.
32
http://text.egwwritings.org/publication.php?pubtype=Book&bookCode=FSDA&lang=en&collection=
15§ion=all&pagenumber=299.
23
But if there is someone, then we must—we are required to interpret it literally—it is as
simple as that. Now all that we have to do as good history scholars is to look into the civil
historical records of Egypt and see if there is such a person that did what this prophecy
said he would do—then we would know that we had a literal, civil fit for this prophecy.
Not only would there have to be a perfect civil fit for the king of the south, but
there must also be at the same time a perfect fit for the actions of a king of the north
# 7.
With this said, let’s take a moment to look at verses 3, 4, and 20:
“And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and
do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be
broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven” Daniel 11:3, 4.
24
Let’s now look at Daniel 11:20: “Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes
in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger,
nor in battle.”
Who is this raiser of taxes? “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out
a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed” (Luke 2:1). And yes,
Caesar Augustus died, not in anger or in battle but peacefully in his bed. No symbolism is
found in these verses—just cryptic statements. Uriah Smith believed that all the verses in
Daniel 11 were just like these three verses and that very few words in this chapter had
been symbolized by the angel to mean something different from the plain reading of the
text.
And do you know what? That does make sense, when you realize that this is an
audition that Gabriel is dictating to Daniel. Every time Daniel receives a vision, it is
given in symbols. Every time the angel talks to Daniel, he explains in a mostly literal
format that which had been given in symbols.
25
Daniel 7:16 says: “I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the
truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things”
(emphasis added).
Daniel had just been given a vision of symbols, and now he is asking to know the
truth of all this. In other words, he is asking for the straight scoop—don’t give me
symbols, tell me straight up what this is all about. Gabriel understands what Daniel is
wanting and proceeds to tell him the truth of all that he was just shown.
So when Gabriel comes to Daniel in chapter 11 and says, “And now will I show
thee the truth” (Daniel 11:2), what does he mean by this? He means exactly what Daniel
meant when he asked for straight talk from the angel.
Gabriel is telling Daniel that what he is about to tell him will be the straight
scoop. He is about to hear a literal delineation of events that will take place in the future
and not a signified message such as he gets when he is given visions. When the angel
says ships, it will mean literal boats. When he says seas, it will not mean peoples,
nations, and tongues but rather, literal bodies of water. When he says mountain, it will
not mean the church but rather, an elevated land formation. And when he says king of the
north, it will mean a person who rules in a territory from the northern partition of
Alexander’s kingdom.
Straight talk is what telling the truth means to Daniel and Gabriel.
Here is what we would expect to see in this chapter if the format switched from a
literal to a symbolic format. At some point, the angel would have stopped dictating, and
Daniel would have gone into vision. Then, after delineating the vision, the chapter would
have continued past verse 45 by saying something such as:
26
“And it came to pass, when I, [even] I Daniel, had seen the vision, and
sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a
man” (Daniel 8:15).
Then the chapter would have continued, and an explanation of the signified
message would have been given, just as was done in the previous visions.
We would expect the angel to have then told Daniel that the king of the north no
longer meant an individual civil ruler from a geographical location but that the same
phrase, because it was given in vision, now should be understood to represent a
religious/political power—and the symbolic meaning of the “many ships” of verse 40
should be understood to mean economic power.
The mountain, in verse 45, does not mean an elevated land formation, but instead,
because it was given in a vision and had been signified, it now means the church or
heaven or whatever else the angel would have told Daniel it meant.
But the fact that this chapter does not report that Daniel went into vision suggests
that we are to continue interpreting the later part of this audition in the same way as the
former part. To do anything other than this would be to introduce confusion and thus
arrive at erroneous conclusions.
“We now enter upon a prophecy of future events, clothed not in figures
and symbols, as in the visions of chapter 2, 7, and 8, but given mostly in plain
language. Many of the signal events of the world’s history, from the days of
Daniel to the end of the world, are here brought to view.”33
The prophecies of chapter 11 are somewhat unique, for the fine details they
provide regarding the interactions of civil powers. All these prophecies are of such a
nature that they would have made local news headlines at the time of their fulfillment.
It’s as if Jesus compiled newsworthy events of the region surrounding the Middle East,
33
Uriah Smith, Daniel and the Revelation, 1897, 247.
27
from the time of Daniel right up until the close of probation, so that we could “catch the
steady tread of the events ordained by Him to take place.”34
By comparing headline news with the words of this particular prophecy, we can
see where we are in the stream of time. Jesus wants us to know when the end of probation
nears so that it does not overtake us a thief in the night. Daniel 12:1 says: “And at that
time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy
people.” That is the close of probation—and the focal point of this entire prophecy.
“And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious
holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.”
Let’s see if we can decipher what this text is talking about. First, who is this he,
him, and his being referred to here? We have to trace that personal pronoun back to its
noun.
“And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the
king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with
horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall
overflow and pass over.”
By carefully tracing the pronouns back, we find that they refer to the king of the
north. This phrase, king of the north, is mentioned in verses 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 15, and 40.
Before we go back to verse 45, we should spend some time on verse 40. From
other Scriptures we know that the time of the end begins in 1798. So in verse 40 we have
a clue that nails this verse to a point in history.
The Great Controversy also identifies for us the date that the time of the end
began:
34
EGW, Testimonies, vol. 7, 14.
28
“But that part of his prophecy which related to the last days, Daniel was
bidden to close up and seal ‘to the time of the end.’ [Daniel 12:4]. . . . But
since 1798 the book of Daniel has been unsealed, knowledge of the prophecies
has increased, and many have proclaimed the solemn message of the Judgment
near.”35
The beginning of the time of the end occurs when the book of Daniel would be
unsealed—and that began in 1798.
Just before that time, in 1797, who was in charge of the original territory of
Ptolemy located in the southern partition of Alexander’s kingdom? Let’s take a look at
some maps to find that answer.
From the following map, we see that the Ottoman Empire obtained control of this
territory south of Israel in 1512.
And from this next map, we see that it lost this territory in 1879.
35
EGW, The Great Controversy, 355, 356, emphasis added.
29
And yet, if the Ottoman Empire controlled Egypt at the time of Napoleon’s
invasion, then we would have the king of the north pushing against France when they
invaded Egypt. But the verse says that it would be the king of the south, not the king of
the north that pushes against the “him”:
“And at the time of the end shall the king of the south [ruler of Egypt]
push at him [the king of verse 36 (France – according to Uriah Smith]: and the
king of the north shall come against him [France] like a whirlwind” Daniel 11:40.
If Napoleon had been battling the Ottoman Empire upon landing in Egypt, this
history would not fit the verse.
But as providence would have it, Igrahim and Murad, Mamluk rulers, had taken
Egypt from the Ottoman Empire and were co-ruling Egypt from 1791 up to the invasion
of Napoleon. So the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire was not controlling Egypt; thus he
was not the one who pushed against France when France invaded Egypt.
I consider it quite amazing that this prophecy fits so well with the actual facts of
history. Here is the documentation to support the fact that the Ottoman Empire was not
ruling Egypt at the time of Napoleon’s invasion:
30
“In late 1785, Ibrahim and Murad received Ottoman demands for tribute
but refused to comply. On 18 July 1786, Murad Bey failed to contain the Ottoman
expeditionary force sent against him, as a result of which the Turks set up a new
government in Cairo in August 1786. Murad and Ibrahim Bey withdrew to Upper
Egypt where they resisted the Ottoman forces for the next six years. Returning to
Cairo in July 1791, Murad Bey continued ruling Egypt for seven years, sharing
power with Ibrahim Bey. In 1798, he served as sari askar (commander-in-chief) of
the Mamluk forces against the French troops under General Napoleon Bonaparte
but was decisively defeated at Shubra Khit (10-13 July) and Inbaba (Embaba) (21
July). He rejected Napoleon’s offer to govern Girga province and withdrew to
Upper Egypt, where he tied down considerable numbers of French troops under
General Desaix. Demonstrating notable administrative and military skills, he
fought the French to a draw at Sediman (El Lahun, 7 October 1798) but was
defeated at Samhud (22 January 1799). Nevertheless, his guerrillas constantly
harassed the French communication and supply lines.”36
“Ottomans attempted to restore control from Murad Bey and Ibrahim Bey
but at no avail. Nevertheless, they both failed to defend Egypt against the French
invasion led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798. A fierce battle took place between
the two sides near Imbaba in Cairo. The Mamluks were defeated, while those who
survived from the battle defected the country including both Murad Bey and
Ibrahim Bey who carried their treasures and hastily left Egypt.”
History tells us that in 1798, at the time of the end, there would be a southern
ruler in control of this southern territory, just as prophecy said there would be.
36
http://www.georgianbiography.com/bios/m/murad_bey.htm
37
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibrahim_Bey.
31
the open terrain in solid six-deep divisional squares, and their fire-power slices
with devastating effect through the wild charges of the Egyptian (Mameluke)
cavalry. Victory in the Battle of the Pyramids delivers Cairo to Napoleon. While
emphasizing his respect for Islam, Napoleon sets about organizing Egypt as a
French territory with himself as its ruler, assisted by a senate of distinguished
Egyptians. All is going according to his plan. His team of scientists can now begin
to look about them (in the following year, 1799, a French officer finds the Rosetta
stone).”38
“And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the
king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with
horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall
overflow and pass over” Daniel 11:40.
History tells us that Napoleon headed north from Egypt in 1799 to conquer the
Turks. The Turks declared war upon Napoleon and came against him and his army like a
whirlwind, ultimately reclaiming their southern territory with the help of English ships.
Verses 41 to 43 follow the historical fulfillment of this war between Napoleon and the
sultan of Turkey, which we will review from Uriah Smith’s commentary on these verses.
Before we go to these verses, let me say something about chariots and horsemen.
In the civil/literal view, Daniel 11:40 was fulfilled soon after the time of the end
began—1798. The chariots, or horse-drawn wagons, as it can also be translated, along
with the horsemen and ships, are literal terms. This verse could not be fulfilled in the
twenty-first century. It was fulfilled in the eighteenth century, when horsemen and horse-
drawn wagons were prominent features of warfare.
38
HistoryWorld.net: http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab37.
32
Verse 41:
“He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be
overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the
chief of the children of Ammon.”
“In 1805, Napoleon asserted that if he had been able to take Acre [in
1799], I would have put on a turban, I would have made my soldiers wear big
Turkish trousers, and I would have exposed them to battle only in case of extreme
necessity. I would have made them into a Sacred Battalion (elite force of the
39
Uriah Smith, Daniel and the Revelation, 307.
40
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acre,_Israel.
33
Theban army in the 4th century BC) -my Immortals (the ‘Immortals’, an elite
corps played an important role in Cyrus the Great's conquest of the Neo-
Babylonian Empire in 547 BC). I would have finished the war against the Turks
with Arabic, Greek, and Armenian troops. Instead of a battle in Moravia, I would
have won a Battle of Issus, (the Battle of Issus was a decisive victory for
Alexander the Great and it marked the beginning of the end of Persian power) I
would have made myself emperor of the East, and I would have returned to Paris
by way of Constantinople.”41
Had I been Napoleon’s advisor, I could have told him that he was attempting an
impossible feat. Not only does Daniel 11:40–43 reveal a negative outcome to his
ambitious plans, but he is also coming up against a prophecy found in Revelation 9. He is
attempting to destroy that power that is still in its 391-year-and-15-day prophecy. He is
coming up against the sixth trumpet of Revelation, which was prophesied to continue
until August 11, 1840.
Verse 42: “He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of
Egypt shall not escape.”
“‘Egypt shall not escape’ were the words of the prophecy. This language
seems to imply that Egypt would be brought into subjection to some power from
whose dominion it would desire to be released. As between the French and Turks,
how did this question stand with the Egyptians? - They preferred French rule. In
R.R. Madden’s Travels in Egypt, Nubia, Turkey, and Palestine in the years 1824 -
1827, published in London in 1829, it is stated that the French were much
regretted by the Egyptians, and extolled as benefactors; that ‘for the short period
they remained, they left traces of amelioration;’ and that, if they could have
established their power, Egypt would now be comparatively civilized. In view of
this testimony, the language would not be appropriate if applied to the French; the
Egyptians did not desire to escape out of their hands. They did desire to escape
from the hands of the Turks, but could not.”42
41
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Acre_(1799).
42
Uriah Smith, Daniel and the Revelation, 308.
34
Verse 43: “But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and
over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his
steps.”
“History gives the following facts: When the French were driven out of
Egypt, and the Turks took possession, the sultan permitted the Egyptians to
reorganize their government as it was before the French invasion. He asked of the
Egyptians neither soldiers, guns, nor fortifications, but left them to manage their
own affairs independently, with the important exception of putting the nation
under tribute to himself. In the articles of agreement between the sultan and the
pasha of Egypt, it was stipulated that the Egyptians should pay annually to the
Turkish government a certain amount of gold and silver, and ‘six hundred
thousand measures of corn, and four hundred thousand of barley.’”43
“The Persians on the east and the Russians on the north were the ones
which instigated that conflict. Tidings from these powers troubled him (Turkey).
Their attitude and movements incited the sultan to anger and revenge. Russia,
being the more aggressive party, was the object of attack. Turkey declared war on
her powerful northern neighbor in 1853. . . . The prophecy said that they should
go forth with ‘great fury;’ and when they thus went forth in the war aforesaid,
they were described, in the profane vernacular of an American writer, as ‘fighting
like devils.’ England and France, it is true, soon came to the help of Turkey; but
she went forth in the manner described, and as is reported, gained important
victories before receiving the assistance of these powers.”44
43
Ibid., 309.
44
Uriah Smith, Daniel and the Revelation, 310.
35
“And he [king of the north—civil ruler of Turkey] shall plant the
tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he
shall come to his end, and none shall help him.”
According to Bible Readings for the Home Circle, 394 (1888), the phrase
tabernacles of his palace simply means the seat of his government.
I tend to agree with this. This word palace that Gabriel uses, is a foreign word.
Nowhere else is it used in the Bible. Why would Gabriel use a foreign word and a phrase
used nowhere else in the Bible? And why does he use the plural of the word tabernacle?
Perhaps something was going to be planted that was not in existence in Daniel’s
day, so the angel had to use a phrase that would not be understood until the time came for
its fulfillment.
I had no idea what this might be, until I did a study of the three woes of
Revelation. From my understanding of what the third woe will be, I believe I may have
discovered the meaning of this phrase. I have come to understand that the third woe will
be closely related to the first two woes. The first two woes were brought to this earth
through Islamic Caliphates.
The Saracen and Turkish Caliphates brought the first woe to this earth from A.D.
612 to July 27, 1449.
The Turkish Caliphate brought the second woe to this earth from July 27, 1449 to
August 11, 1840.
I believe that the third woe will also involve an Islamic Caliphate. Now, there has
not been an Islamic Caliphate since March 3, 1924.
I want to share a news item, but before I read a paragraph from CBSnews.com, let
me say something about quoting from the newspaper. I realize that sharing current news
36
items can raise the charge of interpreting prophecy by the newspaper rather than by the
Scriptures. Let me address this issue.
Josiah Litch arrived at a position on the ending of the sixth trumpet through
diligent Bible study. He also noticed confirmation of his interpretation by looking at
current events and finding in them the fulfillment of this prophecy. When he shared his
interpretation of Revelation 9 along with newspaper headlines to show that prophecy was
being fulfilled, he was not using the newspaper to interpret prophecy.
When Alexander the Great came to sack Jerusalem, and when the priests came out
and told him that he was fulfilling prophecies of Daniel 8, were they relying on current
events or on Scripture to interpret prophecy? Scripture, quite clearly. The prophecies of
Daniel foretold future events, and when the priests saw in current events the fulfillment
of prophecy, they shared that knowledge with Alexander, and it spared their city.
37
for the U.S. in the Muslim world could lead straight to an Islamic caliphate lurks
beneath many of Washington’s pronouncements and much of its strategic
planning.”45
Do Muslims want the Caliphate back? This is from an article from the Israeli
Ynetnews site:
“Head of the northern faction of the Islamic Movement Sheikh Raed Salah
said Friday that ‘soon Jerusalem will be the capital of the new Muslim caliphate,
and the caliph’s seat will be there.’ Salah addressed an audience of 50,000
attending the Islamic Movement’s 11th annual rally in Umm al-Fahm. ‘Caliph’
refers to a leader of the Muslim nation and in Arabic means the ‘heir’ or
‘substitute’ of the prophet Muhammad. Salah noted that history tells of many
occasions in which the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem was occupied by foreign
conquerors, but the occupiers left after a short time, and thus will also be the fate
of the Israeli occupation. ‘The Israeli occupation will leave Jerusalem soon. It will
happen sooner than is thought,’ Salah said at the rally, which was held under the
slogan ‘Al-Aqsa endangered.’”46
“The western dogs are rejoicing after killing one of our Islamic lions
[Osama bin Laden]. From Al-Aqsa Mosque (Jerusalem), where the future
caliphate will originate with the help of God, we say to them—the dogs will not
rejoice too much for killing the lions. The dogs will remain dogs and the lion,
even if he is dead, will remain a lion.”47
This past year there were 29 Caliphate conferences held around the world:
45
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/01/25/opinion/main7281679.shtml, emphasis added.
46
http://www.metrolic.com/will-there-be-a-world-caliphate-173917.
47
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4064183,00.html (emphasis added).
38
Sunday. According to Hizb ut-Tahrir, the pan-Islamist political party staging the
conference, people will come from all over the world to hear speakers from
England, Australia, Palestine, Japan and the Sudan.”48
These people are well organized. See also video (“Uprisings in the Muslim World: On the Road to
Khilafah”): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToX_4iJCQl4
Now, back to the book of Daniel. Based on our understanding of who and what
the king of the north was, from the first half of Daniel 11, we can arrive at an identity for
the king of the north in verse 40. Here, in the time of the end, we can see the history of
the sultan of Turkey, Selim III, fulfilling prophecy when he attacks Napoleon, who is the
“him” of verse 40.
48
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Religion/?id=1.0.1196047038.
49
Mihai-Silviu Chirila, posted in Editorials, Featured: http://www.metrolic.com/will-there-be-a-world-
caliphate-173917.
39
This Sultan fulfills verses 40 to 43. Verse 44 is fulfilled by Sultan Abdülmecid I
of Turkey in 1853–1856.
Verse 45 was in the process of being fulfilled in 1877 and 1878 by Sultan Abdul
Hamid II of Turkey. God intervened and stopped this verse from being fulfilled, because
His people were not ready.
So as I see this history, it is easy for me to see that once the “resume” button is
pushed and God allows verse 45 to be fulfilled, I see that the same power that fulfilled
verses 40–44 will be the power of verse 45. And that power is the leader of Turkey.
Today, the leader of Turkey is Erdoğan. Will he fulfill verse 45? I don’t know.
But it will either be him or a successor of his that will fulfill verse 45. And I have not
used current events to come to these conclusions. Comparing the prophecy with history
tells me what the events were that fulfilled verses 40–44. And then it is looking at verse
45 and using the same hermeneutic employed in the preceding verses that allows me to
say that the current king of the north is the current leader of Turkey.
dictatorships. Indeed, Turkey’s influence in the Muslim world has not been
greater since the early 20th century, when Muslims from India to Java looked up
to the Ottoman sultan as caliph, hoping he would save them from European
50
http://www.biyokulule.com/view_content.php?articleid=3802.
40
imperialists. Later, secularist post-colonial leaders such as Egypt’s Gamel Abdel
“Today, Erdoğan seems even more popular internationally than the sultan
or Ataturk—and not just in the Arab street, where he has become a folk hero for
his loud criticism of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. Last year, Anwar Ibrahim,
town said that modernizing Muslims like himself had observed the fortunes of the
“Harvard historian Niall Ferguson, for instance, is convinced that the West
ought to be deeply worried as Turkey creates ‘a new Muslim empire in the Middle
East.’ After the AKP’s victory last month, Ferguson warned of Erdoğan’s
Arab Spring to his advantage. ‘His ambition,’ Ferguson wrote, ‘is to return to the
pre-Ataturk era, when Turkey was not only militantly Muslim but also a regional
superpower.’”51
Even if Turkey was an insignificant power, as it was 50 years ago, and it could
not be seen from current events how it could possibly fulfill verse 45, I would still say,
based upon the Word of God, that the leader of that power was the king of the north. It
just happens to be that today this power does have the desire and the wherewithal to
fulfill this verse.
51
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-01/rising-turkey-is-no-neo-ottoman-threat-to-west-pankaj-
mishra.html.
41
“According to Mohammedan tradition, Jerusalem is to play a leading part
in the closing history of that people. Hughes, in his ‘Dictionary of Islam,’ article
‘Jerusalem,’ summarizes the teaching: ‘In the last days there will be a general
flight to Jerusalem.’ Speaking of Jerusalem, an old Arab commentator on the
Koran, Mukaddasi (AD 985) said: ‘As to the excellence of the city. Why, is not
this to be the place of marshaling on the day of judgment, where the gathering
together and the appointment will take place? Verily Makkah [Mecca] and AI
Madina have their superiority by reason of the Ka’abah and the prophet, the
blessing of Allah be upon him and his family! But, in truth, on the day of
judgment both cities will come to Jerusalem, and the excellencies, of them all will
then be united.’ - Le Strange, ‘Palestine under the Moslems,’ p. 85. Thus Moslem
doctrinal teaching and tradition both point out Jerusalem as the rallying place of
Moslems before the end.”52
In the 1800s the Caliphate headquarters was on the verge of being moved to
Palestine.
“Thus Moslem doctrinal teaching and tradition both point out Jerusalem as
the rallying place of Moslems before the end. Again and again in recent years, as
the pressure has threatened the Turkish hold on Constantinople, the thoughts of
Moslems have turned toward Jerusalem as a possible capital. A few years ago a
Seventh-day Adventist missionary in Constantinople wrote to his home board:
‘Within the past few months quite a company of people from the Transcaucasus
district have come to Ismid, old Nicodemia, bringing all they possess with them.
Some of them possess considerable wealth. When asked if they were going to
52
W. A. Spicer, Our Day in the Light of Prophecy, 328–330.
42
settle in Ismid, they replied that, they would settle nowhere permanently at
present. They stated that they had come to be prepared to go with their leader
when he left Constantinople to go to Jerusalem.’”53
Jesus prevented verse 45 from being fulfilled, and when He sees we are ready for
Him to return, He will allow verse 45 to be fulfilled as a waymark to let us know that the
end of all things is at hand.
Let’s next look at this phrase glorious holy mountain. Daniel 11:45 (emphasis
added): “And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious
holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.”
What and where is the glorious holy mountain? This phrase is only found here in
this verse.
Before we answer that, let me say something about the Palestinian territory. Does
Palestine have any prophetic significance after A.D. 34?
Palestine is the location from which a prophecy given by Daniel and restated by
Jesus is currently being fulfilled.
“And for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until
the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” Daniel 9:27.
“And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into
all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the
Gentiles be fulfilled.” Luke 21:24.
Both these prophecies concern literal Jerusalem and declare that Gentiles will
have an ongoing desolating presence in Jerusalem until the close of probation.
53
W. A. Spicer, Our Day in the Light of Prophecy, chapter 30 (http://www.web-
books.com/Classics/ON/B0/B897/33MB897.html).
43
Also, the 2300-day prophecy informs us that there will be a continuing focused
importance to this territory, right up to the year 1844.
Without examining the barley harvest from the land of Palestine, we would not
know when the first month of the Jewish ceremonial year began. Without that
knowledge, we could not know when the Day of Atonement in 1844 would take place.
The new moon of the seventh month can only be calculated from the sighting of it
there in Palestine. Our pioneers relied on the calculations of the Karaite Jews. They used
the biblical method that relied on the barley harvest for calculating the start of the
ceremonial year.
But, you say, I thought this was a cursed land. Yes, it is, and it was a cursed land
long before A.D. 34. This land was laid waste many times because of the wickedness of
the Israelites.
This whole earth is under the curse of sin, but there is one and only one
geographical spot on this planet that holds significance—a spot Jesus Himself called
holy.
Jesus called an area outside the city walls a holy place. What made this spot holy
in A.D. 66? It cannot be holy on account of the city of Jerusalem, the temple or the
Jewish people.
Where was that strategic spot where the idolatrous Roman standard was to be set
up? On the Mount of Olives.
“From the ridge of Olivet, the very spot afterward occupied by Titus and his
army, He looked across the valley upon the sacred courts and porticoes.”54
54
EGW, The Great Controversy, 21.
44
“The closeness of the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem's walls made this
series of hills a grave strategic danger. The Roman commander Titus had his
headquarters on the northern extension of the ridge during the siege of Jerusalem
in A. D. 70. He named the place Mount Scopus, or ‘Lookout Hill,’ because of the
view which it offered over the city walls. The whole hill must have provided a
platform for the Roman catapults that hurled heavy objects over the Jewish
fortifications of the City.”55
November 14–16, A.D. 66: Cestius attacks and pursues the rebels to Jerusalem.
He pitches camp on Mount Scopus for three days to collect food from local villages.
November 22, A.D. 66: Cestius suddenly gives up and retreats from the city
“without any reason in the world.”
Note these words from Josephus: “It was, I suppose, owing to the aversion God
had already toward the city and the sanctuary that He delayed from putting an end to the
war that very day.”56
We see here that Cestius also pitched his camp on the Mount of Olives in A.D.
66, as did Titus. This was the signal for the Christians to flee.
From a statement in The Desire of Ages, we see that the Mount of Olives takes
precedence over Mount Moriah and Mount Zion:
“As the place of His ascension, Jesus chose the spot so often hallowed by
His presence while He dwelt among men. Not Mount Zion, the place of David's
city, not Mount Moriah, the temple site, was to be thus honored. There Christ had
been mocked and rejected. There the waves of mercy, still returning in a stronger
tide of love, had been beaten back by hearts as hard as rock. Thence Jesus, weary
and heart-burdened, had gone forth to find rest in the Mount of Olives. The holy
Shekinah, in departing from the first temple, had stood upon the eastern mountain,
as if loath to forsake the chosen city; so Christ stood upon Olivet, with yearning
heart overlooking Jerusalem. The groves and glens of the mountain had been
55
http://www.bible-history.com/jesus/jesusuntitled00000453.htm.
56
http://www.josephus.org/warChronology2.htm.
45
consecrated by His prayers and tears. Its steeps had echoed the triumphant shouts
of the multitude that proclaimed Him king. On its sloping descent He had found a
home with Lazarus at Bethany. In the garden of Gethsemane at its foot He had
prayed and agonized alone. From this mountain He was to ascend to heaven.
Upon its summit His feet will rest when He shall come again. Not as a man of
sorrows, but as a glorious and triumphant king He will stand upon Olivet, while
Hebrew hallelujahs mingle with Gentile hosannas, and the voices of the redeemed
as a mighty host shall swell the acclamation, Crown Him Lord of all!”57
This spot, in A.D. 66, Jesus still called holy. This spot will be the very center of
the New Jerusalem—perhaps the very spot where God's throne will be located. Jesus
steps onto the Mount of Olives at the end of the 1,000 years, and from this center spot, a
plain spreads out east, west, north, and south and becomes the foundation for the New
Jerusalem.
If Jesus referred to the Mount of Olives as being a holy spot in A.D. 66, why
couldn’t Gabriel also refer to the Mount of Olives as “the glorious holy mountain” in
Daniel 11:45?
57
EGW, The Desire of Ages, 829.
58
EGW, The Great Controversy, 662.
46
Could it be that the leader of Turkey will plant an Islamic Caliphate headquarters
on the Mount of Olives, which is located between the two seas—the Mediterranean Sea
and the Dead Sea?
The temple mount is already crowded with Muslim holy sites. The Mount of
Olives overlooks the city and would be a most likely spot for a Caliphate headquarters
complex.
Then the verse says that this person who plants the tabernacles of his palace will
come to his end. It does not say how he comes to his end, or what this even means, but I
believe we will recognize it when it happens, and we will know at that time that the
eleventh chapter of Daniel has reached its complete fulfillment.
“The world is stirred with the spirit of war. The prophecy of the eleventh
chapter of Daniel has nearly reached its complete fulfillment. Soon the scenes of
trouble spoken of in the prophecies will take place.”59
“And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth
for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never
was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people
shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of
them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and
some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the
brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars
for ever and ever.”
******************
pastorjcw@gmail.com
59
EGW, Testimonies, vol. 9, 14.
47